Monday, June 20, 2016

Recipe for a fun retreat!

Thanks to everyone for your well wishes on having a great retreat! I'd read your comments while at retreat and just smile at the wonderful virtual quilting guild we have here among us. So here's the recipe to a great four days away...sewing!

Ingredients:

One very nice hotel located in a small mountain community.

Rainy, windy weather outside.

A large room filled with quilters.

Your own little spot.

Now mix in a little fun and laughter!

Yep! EVERY time you used your seam ripper you had to pay a nickel. I think I put $1.50 worth of nickels into that there little jar. But, darn didn't win the jackpot. Boy that would have totally bumped up my Piggy Bank Challenge contents huh! Bummer!

Using trader's dice, we played using fat quarters. I walked away with these six.

Lucky me, three that I can contribute to the I-Spy swap! This was a fun game.

Oh man, and what is quilter's retreat without a jelly roll race!

I would have never been able to do this without the help of my friend Lori.

Seriously this was kinda hard. I mean I was sweating and my machine was shacking!

But I finished this wonderful little masterpiece in 39 minutes and 36 seconds!

(I was trying to cross my eyes in this picture, but I obviously didn't accomplish that.)

I won a charm pack for coming in second place. YEAH!!

And soon after I received the nickname: "half inch" as my seams fluttered like ruffles as they were soooooo big!! LOL!! One participant even asked: "Don't you have a quarter inch foot." I responded: "Yep. and even an automated 1/4 inch setting." The room rolled in laughter and thus my nickname was created! (Go ahead look closer...so funny!)

It may have turned out smaller than everyone elses, but those seams aren't coming apart! I'm going to add a black border, back it with some minky and it will make the perfect classroom reading quilt don't ya think. The kids will love it. Oh! Everyone's cracking up in this picture below because my neighbor in the white announced I should turn mine around so we could see all my pretty ruffles!

Fabrics used from left to right: Chipper by Tula Pink, Eden by Tula Pink, Polka Dot by Moda, Hello Darling by Bonnie and Camille.

My flowers have four layers and I used a lot of Kim Diehl fabrics and some wovens.

Both of these will be queen size quilts and I think we are both about half way done. Pre-cutting all our flowers and nine patch squares saved the day for sure!

We all went home very happy campers and now need to get unpacked and set up at home.

Thanks again for your well wishes and as you can see, my retreat experience was fun and productive! (Though I don't think we'll get a lot of empathy from our husbands as we now complain about be so tired. Seriously, we never went to bed before midnight!) Speaking of fun. Please do share your favorite retreat memory or/and if you have ever participated in a crazy jelly roll race.

You are such a hoot Val! What a fun loving bunch of women and it all sounds like the most wonderful retreat! Love all the jelly roll race quilts and yours and Lori's floral nine patches are beautiful! That Happy Camper pillow is adorable too!

Sounds like so much fun! That is one of the things on my bucket list, to go to a retreat! Love, love your "half inch" story! LOLThanks for stopping by over at Lilypadquilting! I was going to reply directly to your comment, but your settings are on no reply. Boo. Haha! Just in case mine are messed up, here is my address: quiltnsrep(at)yahoo(dot)com.

Oh it looks like you all had a blast! I love your polkda dot JRRQ! I'm sure the kids will love it as a reading quilt too. "half inch" is too funny! I wouldn't take it out either! My sis' nickname should be "5/8"...hahaha. She's always asking why everything has to be 1/4". I've made several JRRQs but have never participated in an actual race. I've never added the 2.5" square either. Maybe next time. I have made on w/ the hello darling fabric too! Thanks for sharing!=)

I have done the jelly roll race and was finished first. BUT there were only 3 of us. The lady showing us wasn't that happy. She kept say she should have brought her better machine and the one she was using wa too slow... She did finish about 10 minutes later... I just wanted mine done at my pace and wasn't really racing. I have done this pattern a few times now and showed lots of friends how to as well...RETREATS...I love them. I am one of the last to bed and first ones up. I get a lot sewn....

My quilt group has been going on Retreat for 6 years now. I just love the time spent with my friends. But I never get all that much done, cos I'm either gawping at someone else's work, feeding my face or being Mrs Hav-a-chat. LOL.BTW next time someone carries on about your JRR seams, you can point out that you were using the valleys (of the pinked edge) not the peaks. That make you feel better? :-)

Retreats are the best. Our guild started one two years ago lakeside in the mountains, and if the weather is nice, it's hard to stay indoors all day. But the lake makes a great break for kayaking, canoeing or just strolling around. Your school kids are lucky to have a new quilt this fall!